"I hope that everyone will cooperate in finding a mutually acceptable solution within the strict deadline set by the WTO."

Banana wars

Meanwhile a statement from the European Commission added that if the two sides fail to reach agreement it would request a second round of arbitration.

Following a series of rows in the 1990s - known as the "banana wars" - the EU was forced to introduce a new set of tariffs for the fruit by 1 January 2006, as the present system was regarded as discriminatory towards US and Latin American companies.

However, in the latest WTO case the Latin American producers - Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Nicaragua and Venezuela - argued the new rate broke a WTO-brokered accord that the changes should "at least maintain" their access to the EU market.

Latin American producers currently make up about 60% of the market, with African and Caribbean producers taking a further 20%.

EU-grown bananas - mainly from Spanish and French islands - make up the final 20%.